Creating an achievable summer reading list this holiday

The summer holidays are often the perfect opportunity for book-lovers to catch up on some much-missed reading time. It can be difficult to stick to reading targets alongside your studies and so when summer rolls around, you may find that you haven’t read as much as you would have liked to in the previous months. There are numerous apps and tactics to help you maximise your reading time over the summer break, whether you want to power your way through lots of books or focus on a chosen few. Here are just a few of the most popular and accessible apps that might be able to help you decide what to read this summer and create a list that you will be able to follow.

Goodreads

If you’re an avid reader, then you’re probably already using Goodreads to track your progress and get recommendations from your friends. If you’re not, Goodreads is a really useful tool for compiling lists of books that you want to read next and leaving reviews of those which you have already completed. Goodreads runs a yearly reading challenge in which users set themselves reading targets to achieve over the course of the year, but there is nothing to say that you cannot use this feature to set a goal just for the summer. You can change your target at any time, so if you were perhaps a little over-ambitious at the start of the summer, you can always bring your target down to a more manageable number. Goodreads is free to download and a must-have for all book-lovers.

Audible

If you’re not on the audiobook train yet, then you’re missing out. Audiobooks are the perfect way to maximise your spare time by listening to books on the go. This is the perfect tool for summer reading as you can listen to audiobooks on long journeys or when you’re busy doing other tasks. Audible is a great app and a subscription grants you one book per month, a relatively relaxed plan that you are likely to stick to. If one book per month sounds easy, then why not combine audiobooks with physical books? This is a sure-fire way to speed through your reading list and maximise your summer. Audible is a little on the pricey side, but students are eligible for a three-month free trial so if you haven’t already made the most of this, the summer holidays could be a great opportunity to give it a try.

Scribd

Scribd is another app that requires a subscription but it is a great resource for readers. Scribd lets you browse numerous e-books and audiobooks, allowing you to get the best of both worlds in terms of your reading experience. They have a wide variety of documents for users to access, including sheet music and scripts, so there are plenty of opportunities for you to make the most of your subscription regardless of your personal interests. Of course, seeing so many books in one place may be a little overwhelming for those hoping to stick to a reading list over the summer. Therefore, it may be useful to use Scribd in conjunction with an app such as Goodreads to keep track of what you’re planning to read next.

Freebooks

Some people like to use the summer holidays to read classics as they necessitate a level of commitment that studying does not permit. If you are one of these people, then Freebooks is the perfect app for you. Freebooks gives users the opportunity to read or listen to thousands of classic books, free of charge. Many classics are also available for free download in the Kindle store, but this app is useful as it shows all available books in one place. If classics are your bag, then this is a really handy app, as not only can you try out books without fears of wasting money, but you can also access much-loved books for free.

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re finding it difficult to stick to ambitious targets and if you’re not enjoying a book or a genre, don’t be afraid to put it to one side and switch to something else. Whichever tactic you choose to use to collate your summer reading list, the most important thing to bear in mind is that the summer is an opportunity to take a break from reading for your studies, and instead focus on reading for fun.